Nashville's internal auditor resigns for job as Dallas auditor

Metro's internal auditor, who as been at the center of some of Nashville's biggest investigations in the past year, has resigned to take a job as the auditor for the city of Dallas.

Mark Swann notified the Metro Audit Committee at the end of March that he has accepted the new position and that his resignation will be effective April 30.

"This week I have been bountifully blessed with an opportunity to serve as the City Auditor for the City of Dallas, Texas," he wrote in a letter. "This is an exciting opportunity to have a positive impact on the Dallas community and to return to Texas to be closer to our children and grandsons."

He has also led two recent high profile audits — one on a public works contract with Collier Engineering and another on the purchasing practices of Metro Nashville Public Schools.

But in an interview with The Tennessean, Swann described his workload as "pretty steady," since he's took on the role of Nashville' chief auditor in 2007.

"It's always one crisis after another," he said.

Swann heads an office of nine Metro employees that is overseen by a six-member board that includes council members John Cooper and Bob Mendes, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman and city Finance Director Talia Lomax O'dneal.

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He is currently four years into his eight-year contract, which runs through June 2022.

The audit committee discussed next steps to fill the vacancy at Tuesday's regularly scheduled meeting.

Metro Human Resources told the committee a job posting will be posted for three weeks. Then the group will narrow the candidate pool to three people, rank them and notify Metro Council, which will appoint the next internal auditor by a majority vote.

“Dallas is no small place,” Cooper said Tuesday. “There are a lot of auditors in the world and it’s a compliment to Nashville they picked you.”

“It’s been an honor to serve the citizens of Metro Government,” Swann said to the Tennessean. “It was a pleasure working with such qualified individuals with the city and the staff hear. I’ll miss the people of Nashville.”

He said he applied for the Dallas position in December and is looking forward to spending time with his family in Houston.

His advice for his replacement?: "Make their jobs easier."

And, according to Swann, it seems like everything in Texas is bigger.

"There'll be more money, more problems, more bosses and more audits," he said.